Building construction



March 8, 1938. JUSTEMENT '2,110,488

' BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Patented M'ar. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE 4 Claims.

My present invention relates to the building art, and has particular reference to partition constructions.

The heretofore utilized types of partition constructions include ordinary plastering, and plaster board installations. The plastering, as ordinarily used in building construction, is an expensive operation and takes a great deal of time, as at least two coats are required; it introduces vast quantities of moisture which must be allowed to dry out before any finish can be applied; it requires scaffolding thereby interfering with the work of other trades; it is the dirtiest operation in building construction, and provides a residue of vast quantities of rubbish which must be hauled away.

Moreover, the plaster is subject to damage by frost, thus requiring temporary window enclosures and heat when it is applied in winter; it is not only very easily damaged, but is also expensive to repair.

When the plaster is applied to wood studding in frame construction, it becomes subject to strains caused by wood shrinkage, which produce 25 numerous cracks and other unsightly conditions;

moreover, plaster is usually applied on wooden lath, and thus oifers poor re resistance, as the use of metal or other incombustible lath is too expensive for ordinary use. 30 The application of plaster board instead of plaster has therefore been advocated, as the board is manufactured under factory conditions and constitutes an excellent material capable of overcoming practically all the disadvantageous features incident to the use of ordinary plaster. There are two standard types of board now in use, plaster-board lath in small sheets, and plaster board in large sheets, usually about four by ten feet, the lath being merely an incombustible lath to which ordinary plaster is applied, and the sheet being adapted for securing to wood studding by nailing.

The plaster board sheet, while greatly preferable to ordinary plaster, has heretofore also had certain disadvantages. Since the wood studding is rarely absolutely uniform in size or absolutely straight, the board is subjected to distortive stresses Which impair its application and mar its appearance. The jointure of adjacent boards is normally covered with canvas, and the nail heads at every stud must be countersunk and covered with plastic material; moreover, the walls must be papered to conceal the joints and nail heads, as painting does not produce a satisfactory nish unless the walls are first covered with canvas.

If partitions of incombustible material are desirable or are required by law, the use of wood studs, which are necessary for receiving the securing nails, renders plaster board unsuitable.l It is difficult, moreover, to remove or repair one board without refinishing the entire room, and there is but little salvagevalue in dismantled boards.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide an improved plaster board construction that is easily applied, and that overcomes the objections heretofore found in the use of board.

-To this end, I have devised a concealed fastening construction which is appliedto plaster board and to studding at the factory, and thus permits snapping the board into place with a minimum of cutting, the resulting wall being with finished surface, ready for papering or painting, if desired.

A further object of my invention is to arrange the boards and studding so as to provide a removable partition of which the various parts may be used over and over again.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists lof a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more specically defined in the claims appended thereto.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a typical partition em bodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail illustrating the intersection of two wall surfaces;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a, section similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating a steel channel stud type of. construction;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail of a wall intersection; and

Fig. 9 is a section similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating the use of wood jamb or trim with this type of construction.

I have found it advantageous to use wall board of plastic or fibrous material, equipped with anchor clipswhich are inserted in the material before final hardening or set, which anchor clips are entirely concealed in the wall, partition or ceiling after erection, whereby a finished appearance is obtained without need for covering by paper, paint, or the like, the boards being provided with notches orslots which receive suitable studs having corresponding projections, and having the edges thereof equipped with a com- -pressible material'such as felt, for example, to

arrangements are more fully described herewith by reference to the accompanying drawings, in`

which like referencev characters designate the same or similar parts.

In the drawings, a. typical partition such as shown `in Fig. 1 includesla cornice .mould `yza base 6, vertical joints 1, and usually Ya. door 8. The` construction of partitions of this type includes thesecuring of top' channels 9 andV bottom channels I0 tothe Jiloors -I |;by sui-taltilemeans such 'as `spacedgbolts orY anchors, -a strip I.of sound deadening` material I2 being preferably :inserted between fthe channels and the floors. channelsyhave circular slotswllY at spaced intervals; usually onefinch, whereby the positioning,

of the bottom channel with one slot in vertical alignment with Va. correspondingslot in the upper channel valso aligns the i'other slots.

Studs :I4-fare now i-nsertedbetween the `channels, having wire reinforcements l5 which extend a short iiiistancebeyond-the stud end; usually about "V4 rinich,` thef'lower end of the Wire being dropped .intorthe slots in the -bottomichannel and the upper endsbeing received-in the slots of the' channel, which-may -be slotted, Vmade in sections. or otherwise'arrangedfto facilitate the insertion and the retention of the upper wire end.; The studs may be Aof any incombustible plasticV material havingradequate vstrength and sound resisting qualit-ies, suchfas forexample aerated 'concretel or plaster; v -At spaced-intervals, usually 27erk Sinches, concealed metal anchors or inserts are provided, .adapted to-'oooperate with plaster board sfasteners; as hereinafter -`described. If desired, resistance-to -sound transmission' :may be vincreased by using` layers vof felt I1 or thelike.

The plaster boards-ffwhich'have heretofore beenvmade vfour -feet 1w-ide,v are-,preferably V.ofa width to suit normal stud which maybe fourteen or sixteen incheson centers, additional `sizes being provided in multiples of two inches to possible fany lengthvof wall without cutting. The edgeson each side of the board are offset as shown in1Figs3 and @and one face isprovided with concealed metal insertsnlQ, which are made to align 'with and to fit over the metal anchors o r :inserts` IB of the studs.` The,i anchor |16 is inclined to providea :gravity lock,-but-the anchors and inserts may: lne-modified Ias indicated at 20 and 1.2i" to utilize a.v springwaction instead.- v -In either case, the fastening devices are entirely concealedand the inserts inthe plaster boards are flush with the surface, thus facilitating Ahandling and packaging. Y i

- In installing the boards, the edges Vof thev boards covered by a. very thin layer 23 of felt or other suitable material to resist vibration and sound transmission.

The novel construction is -readily modified for use with a pressed metal door jamb or trim, such as shown in Fig. 5. The stud 2l is made larger, and has a plurality of reinforcing wires 25, usually three or more, toY provide additional strength, and has openings 26 to receive bolts 21 for anchoring the door jamb and trim for one side.

'I'he trimfor the other side is snapped` in place by clips 28 of standard type.

l -A less expensive construction is illustrated in 6, this arrangement requiring less precision in manufacturing and not so close a coordination between thestuds and plaster boards; 'it is however, less re proof and less sound proof.` In

this arrangement, channel shaped studs 29 o1' pressed metal, preferably steel, are locked to the top and bottom channels 9 and I0. Steel clips faire embedded 'inthe plaster boardfand: are spacedv `atyappreciablel intervals, the clips-being found to iit tightly against the inner surfaces 'ofxthechannels as indicatedfin Fig. '7. The

joints `between boards' may be'. lapped, asv yshown in Fig; 3 and the lower .part of'Fig; 7, cr may be bevelled, :as shown in the 'upper part of Fig. '7L

The bevelled joint may beutilized in the construction; shown in Fig.V 3, asrbo'th `the bevelled andthe lapped-joints require :clips orinserts on only'one sidelof the board. Fig. 8 shows the two types 'ofv joints. as applied to the intersectionof `two walls.f Y

Y Instead ofv using steel door jambs, a construction suchv Vas shown in Fig. :9- Vmay be utilized, having a wood buck 3| secured totwo channel studs 29 whichare placed back toback and spot welded.

The woodjambf32 is fastened .to the wood buck ,81|y and the wood trim 331s then applied to cover the plaster boa,rd,.woodr buck; and lamb.

` It is thus evident that Yan extremely light weight partition of incoinbus'tible material, lighter `than alplastered woodstudpartition, is provided; that thefpartition lis'quickly erected, without requiringprecautions or .shelter in `cold weather; that asavingfzin floor space is obtained-as the partitionz hasless thickness; that the cost is lower, both for materials :and for installations; that 'the finished partitionmay be usedtwithout requiring'paperingl or painting, and that thepartition r is readily fdismantled,u the parts being ready v for usea'gain, except forsuch cleaning asis needed'. The :novel construction has other advantageous features, in'that 'anideal low cost suspended .ceilingisiobtained by securing the studshorizontally to the' bottom surface Lof the iioor construction ;5 falso,` an inexpensive .but highly effective'wall-furrlngis obtained by using the studs against exterior masonryfwalls. Moreover, plaster' cracking 'due to shrinkage readily overcome byhaving all .floor joists bear against steel' or other non-shrinkable girders, the upper and lower channels of the described construction then Ybeing secured-'tothe vbottoms of lthe usual wood bean`is.'A The. use ofthe described construction for partitions; ceilings,4 ail'idfor wall-furring, as described, eliminates all plastering and the disadvantageous features thereof. If4 desired, any

fibrous oricomposition'wall board may be usedr instead `of plaster board. l

vWhile Y'I Vhave Ydescribed specic constructional embodr'nentsrof my invention,iit is obvious that desiredchangesgin 'the*form,' inthe dimensions, and in :the 'materials'used; and in the spacing and :arrangement of the iinterlocking parts, may u be made to suit the requirements for different installations, Without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article of manufacture, comprising a Wall board having an anchor clip imbedded therein and extending through one face at one edge thereof, one edge of said Wall board having a strip of compressible material secured thereto, the edges of said Wall board being stepped said clip having a portion spaced from and parallel to the board surface.

2. An article of manufacture, comprising a wall-board, having interlock edges and projecting spaced anchor clips on one edge, said anchor clips being spaced from and extending parallel to the board surface these anchor clips being spaced so as to be staggered on alternate Wall-boards, whereby the projecting anchor clips will lt in the space between the interlock edges when the Wall boards are placed edge to edge, and a strip of compressible and elastic material secured on one edge. f

3. In combination, a stud construction having an anchor member, a board construction having an anchor clip extending from one edge thereof and parallel to and spaced from the edge of the board construction, a second board construction, the edges of said board constructions having interlocking parts, said anchor member and clip being engageable to lock the board constructions to the stud construction.

4. In combination, a stud construction having an anchor member,I a board construction having an anchor clip extending from one edge thereof and parallel to and spaced from the edge of the board construction, a second board construction, the edges of Said board constructions having interlocking parts, said anchor member and clip being releasably engageable to removably lock the board constructions to the stud construe# tion.

LOUIS JUSTEMENT. 

